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Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Independence Day devotion - Semper Fi - Acts 21:10-16

Acts 21:13 Then
Paul answered, "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not
only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord
Jesus."

You cannot fault Paul’s loyalty to
Christ. He believed in Jesus completely and was more than willing to lay down
his life for his Lord. Many years before this incident, he was blinded on the
road to Damascus by Christ, as a means of saving him from his own destructive
ways. Paul never forgot that dynamic moment. It changed everything completely
for him, which is why he was willing to totally give everything for Jesus. Paul
was always willing to be faithful (semper
fi) to Christ, even if it cost him his life, which eventually did happen.

In a couple of weeks, we will be
celebrating Independence Day in the United States. It’s a great occasion for communities
to display their national pride. US flags will be flying everywhere; special
parades will take place in towns and cities; people will be wearing red, white,
and blue; families will be grilling in their backyards, and fireworks will go
off all over the place into the wee small hours of the morning. It’s a
fantastic celebration of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but I
wonder how many of us will remember the sacrifices that our Founding Folks made
and the lives that were sacrificially laid down, so that freedom could be
procured for future generations?

It’s the same in the Christian
Church. Each Sunday is actually an Independence Day celebration because we
remember that Christ set us free from the captivity of sin and tyranny of death,
through His perfect sacrifice and glorious resurrection. As Thomas Jefferson
once wrote in 1774, ‘The same God who gave us Life…also gave us Liberty.’ In other
words, the same God who gave us Christ, also set us free forever!

Questions for personal reflection

How much of my
life am I willing to give to Christ? How much does He expect of me?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You have set us free
from our failures, our mistakes, and our sins. You have purchased that freedom
for us through the spilling of Your blood and the giving of Your Life. We are
unworthy of such a holy sacrifice, but we are also eternally grateful to You
for liberating our souls from the bondage of sin and finality of death. May we
freely choose this day to serve You and God’s Kingdom forevermore. Amen.